Today's guest is the well-travelled Reena Goldthree of Princeton University, where she is an Associate Professor of African American Studies and affiliated with Princeton's Gender and Sexuality Studies and Latin American Studies programs. A native of St. Louis, Reena grew up around history and languages. With a BA from Columbia and a PhD from Duke, Reena taught at Dartmouth before landing at Princeton. She specializes in colonial soldier experiences, especially that of the West Indies Regiment in the First World War. Her book Democracy's Foot Soldiers: World War I and the Politics of Empire in the Greater Caribbean was just published by Princeton University Press. Reena's parents - her father, a very successful high school volleyball coach, and her mother, a Spanish teacher - instilled in her an adventurous spirit. A kid from St. Louis now a Princeton professor studying Black soldiers and veterans in the Caribbean? Listen in - she'll share how this has come to pass.

Join us for a fun one - we'll talk Tuskegee airmen, pen pals, the good fortune of travel as a kid, learning to write research grants in grad school, Curry Mango, being a cheerleader at Columbia, and church-parking lot BBQ, and much more!

Reena's advice for roadside BBQ - "If you can't smell it before you see it, drive on!"

Rec.: 03/12/2026